Separating end fitting for slide fasteners



June Z, 1953 I MQRROW 2,640,255

SEPARATING END FITTING FOR SLIDE: FASTENERS Filed Aug. 15, 194e INVENTOR. federick [..Morrow ATTO PENE Y Patented `une 2, 1953 SEPAR-ATING END FITTING FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Frederick L. Morrow, New Britain, Conn., assignor to The North 85 Judd Manufacturing Company, New Britain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application August 15, 1946, Serial No. 690,651

This invention relates to slide fasteners and, in particular, to the provision of new and improved separating end fittings therefor and to the provision ci new and improved methods of forming and assembling or attaching such end fittings to the Stringer tapes of slide fasteners.

2 Claims. (Cl. 29-148) It is an object of this invention to provide such an end fitting which, though of die cast construction, iS formed separate from and independently of slide fastener Stringer tapes, whereby to avoid damage to the aforesaid Stringer tapes, such as charring or tendering, 'by reason of necessarily high and destructive die casting temperatures, and cooperative parts of which end fitting are simultaneously attached directly to their supporting Stringer tapes by clamping, clinching or crimping.

It is a further object of this invention to provide new and improved methods of forming and/ or attaching such end fittings to the Stringer tapes of slide fasteners.

It is a further object of this invention to provide, as an intermediate product, a separating end fitting blank or assembly comprising complementary pin and retainer members connected by an integral gate or sprue which retains the aforesaid pin and retainer members in predetermined spaced alignment for ease and convenience of attachment simultaneously to their respective supporting Stringer tape end portions.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such a unitary assembly orblank wherein Ithe aforesaid pin and retainer members are provided with tape engaging jaws which, as cast, are spread only sufficiently to accommodate or facilitate the threading of the lower Stringer tape end portions therein to a predetermined position wherein the subsequent bending of the cast metal of the pin and retainer members, during clinching, is maintained at a minimum.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such a blank or assembly wherein means is-provided in at least one of the members for limiting or defining the relative positions of the aforesaid member and its supporting tape.

It is a further `object of this invention to provide such a blank or assembly wherein the aforesaid function is performed by the severable gate or sprue before its severance from the assembly. Itis a further object of this invention to provide such a method wherein, subsequent to proper placement of the Stringer tape ends with respect to the blank, the pin and retainer members are simultaneously clinched on their -respective Stringer tapes with .concurrent severance ofthe 2 c gate or sprue from the pin and retainer members.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will clearly appear from the following description, taken with the vaccompanying drawing forming a part thereof, and will be pointed out in the appendedclaims. i

In the'drawingz f 1 is a diagrammatic plan View of one form of slide fastener equipped with a' separating end fitting constructed according to the principles of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary diagrammatic isometric view illustrating the preparation of the Stringer tape end portions of a slide fastener for attachment of a separating end fitting as Shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view generally similar to Fig. 2 but showing also a unitary casting comprising pin and retainer forming members connected by a severablegate or sprue, the gate or sprue being shown in dash lines in the interest of clear disclosure;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the prepared tape end portions in position in the pin and retainer forming members before they are clinched thereto and prior to removal of the gate or sprue therefrom; y I

Fig. 5 iS a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the pin and retainer forming members clinched to the prepared Stringer tape end portions and the gate or sprue Severed therefrom;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the pin and retainer members operativelyy assembled o r connected, to couple the Stringer tape ends; Fig. 7 iS a. fragmentary isometric view illustrating a modified form of pin member formed according to this invention;v

Fig. 8 is an enlarged longitudinal section taken substantially 'along the plane indicated-by the lines 8-8 in Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 -is a transverse section illustrating the clinching of the pin and retainer forming members Simultaneously; and

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal Section illustrating the severance of the gatefromthe pin and retainer forming members simultaneously with the clinching thereof as Shown in Fig, 9. t

Heretofore, in order to secure the low -cost provided by die casting of slide fastener separating end fittings, comprising parts which 'are relatively'complicated and intricate, the pin and retainer portions ormembers thereof have been cast Separately, directly upon the slide -fastener Stringer tapes with resultant burning, charring or tendering (i. e. incipient charring) of the Stringer tapes engaged by, and adjacent to, the hot molten metal applied to the tapes. While some attempts have been made to cast the members independently of the Stringer tapes, the jaws of the friembers as cast have been surlciently greatly Spread to permit of their passage (before clinching) Sidewise over the reinforced Stringer tape edges, and, in many cases, over platelike metallic reinforcements previously applied to the underlying tape areas or portions. Such spreading requires suchdegree' of bending in the soft and relatively brittle meta-lof: the fit'- ting parts, during subsequent clinching, as ire'- quently to crack or strain this metal internally of the parts. Furthermore, these parts were aligned and attached, by Separate oprations, independently to their respective supporting Stringer tapes.

According; to this invention, the pin; andre- 'tainer members of each separating end iittingare cast integrally with a connecting gate or sprue whichfixes their relativepositions until its severance The lower inepared endsI or both# Stringer tapesi of aslid'e fastener are predeterminedly positioned each in one'cfI the jaws-provided in the pin and retainer members, the.- jaWsaresimultaneonsly clinched and-.the gate or sprue removed concurrently.

The accompanying drawing is-illustrative only, and diagrammatic; all iillets; beveis and other superficial refinements and` congiplications have beenielimin'ateciin theinterestof clear disclosure.

The"illustratlve'slide fastener shown in Fig. 1 comprises complementary righthand Stringer I I and lefthand Stringer I2. These stringers I'I and I2" are similar and eaclr comprises a flexible textile or other tapeV I 4i withv a reinforced edge portion' I5 to which' isise'cure'd afrow of predetermindly spacedl scoops or interlockingA mem'- berslifii;

A conventional slider I, provided with a conventional upwardly diverging internal scoop'.` engagingaridiguidingl channel (not shown) isisu'p'- ported ori the scoops It for conventional sliding niovenieiitgrupwardly thereofutoL cIoSethe'faStener by progressively engaginglthe'rows of'scoopsand downwardly thereofl toppen the fastener'by' progressivelydisengaging or uncoupling' the rows of scoop-s2 It A manually engageable'pull tab I8 is connected to the slider Ill to' facilitate operationno'fthe sliderv`4 for the above described purpos;

Movement of the.A slider Il upwardly to close the fastener is limited by a pair of top stops I9 each secured' tozth'e reinforced edge portion l5 off. one ofV the above described' Stringer tapes'ad`v jacent the uppermostl scoop I6 thereon.

Y Atthe'irlloweriends the Stringer tapes. are'detachably connected by a separating endtting formed and attached accordingr ,to this invention. This fitting comprisesgenerally a` retainer member.'2ii-Secmed totha lower end'of` the lef-thand Stringer II and a complementary detachably` en- I The illustrated retainer member, when clinched to the Stringer II, is in the form of a pair of integral block like portions 24 and 25, the upper portion being of cross-section similar to that of the pin member 2l. The lower portion 22 has a channel portion 2G- extending downwardly just short of the' lower endV (Figs. 8 and 9) and joining or continuing the similar channel portion 2l in the portion 25 for accommodating thev reinforcededge portion I5 of the righthand Stringer II. This' channel 25, 2i communicates with the righthand side of the member 20 by means of a spread slot (as cast) forming spread jawsi, 23 (Fig..9).

Terminationof the channel 26, 2'I short of the lower end of themember 2G forms a pair of opposedend wallsgorshoulders 29, 29 which deiine the position of the Stringer tape when it is threaded' downwardly into the channel 26 as shown in Fig. 8.

The' member 20" extendsfleftwardly of the portion 2l thereof to provide a socket or chamber 313 for detachably receiving the lower portionrof the pin member 2t. This socket or chamber is formed by a recessy or channel terminating short othe bottom of the portion-2d" andv a communi'- cating slot 3i leading to:v thelleft side ofthe portion 24 (See Fig. 9). Ths'slot 3I is'castto iinal width and' it accommodates the portion' of the tape to adjacent the pinmember 21' when itv is inserted in 'the socket 30" as shoWnin'Fig. 6.

If desired, when casting they pinmember, the channel 22 may be terminated' shortof the-lower end thereof to form tape aligning Walls;l abutments or shoulders 22a similar totheabovedee scribed walls or shoulders ZQ'asShOWnRiHUFi'g. 7

wherein the modified pinlrrie'mber designated Ela.

As hereinbei'ore stated, the pinand'y retainer forming members are cast integrally;A asshovf'in Figs. 3 and Ll. These membersascast; a1"e"uhited by a sprueor gate 33.' wiiich-isfseveiedf therefrom concurrently with clinci'ingof tiie members 2Q and 2l on their respective Stringer" tapes; es shown' in Figa l0.` This'sprue-or gate" 33 rigidly maintains the members 2li and Zi'I in predetermined Fixed space relation-un'til itsfs'evr'an-ceas Will be read-ily understood.-

In order to minimize the. thickness of tape clinched between jaws 2:3, 2c anarjawszaszcana' thetliicknessthereof which must be accomiiodated by the slot 3|y leading t'of the channel? or recess 31?-, aportion of the tape Ii adjacent the reinforced edge portion IEthereorfis'coxnpresse'd as indicated at Mibprior to beingv overlapped upon itself (Fig. 2). If deslrecL- it1 may bef-re# compressed after being overlapped. l

The reinforced edge portions Ili'ofthefstringei" tapes I4', as shown-iniFig: 22are -forme'd by afpa'i-r oi' edge reinforcing cordsI I'Ec-securedmo-jopposite sidesrof the tape" edge portion. by stitching Ifb. In order to facilitate doublingaor overlamiii1g;I of the tape' end portions th'ese'cords'f I'5tt"are^:cut away for a suitabledistance iroin'th'e bottom-fend of thetapes, asshown in Figa' 2-.

Appropriate tapes areasrna'y be treated with suitable adhesive'and/or sizing orfstiileningco're positions, eitherl beforevv or after'they'aref-coin' pressed at hib.

Aisshown in'Fig. 3, after preparation," the-lower tape end portions areoverlapp'edand compressed to forni channels` I'b of reducedA thicknessf'for accommodating' the`Y jaws S23; :.23o`fa theU pin mem# ber-'21,Y (or 2m) and' the"jaWsf`2B2-2'8ff'offtieilree ktainer member 20f whereby toreduce-I to semintmum the necessary spreading of the intervening slots or the jaw surfaces when cast.

The angle between respective pairs of jaws is designated X in Fig. 3, and I have found that this angle may vary from a maximum of 30 degrees to a minimum of 20 degrees with provision of adequate space within the channels 22 and 26 to permit convenient and easy endwise threading of the prepared Stringer tape ends (as shown in Fig. 3) into these channels to the desired and/ or required extent.

As may be seen in Figs. 3 and 4, where the channel 22 is coextensive in length with the pin member 2 I, the upper end of the lefthand branch of the sprue or gate 33 provides a shoulder, stop or abutment (before its subsequent removal) to limit the position of the lower (doubled) lefthand Stringer tape edge when it is threaded into the pin or tube member 2 I; the same function is accomplished, at the same time, with respect to the lower (doubled) edge of the righthand Stringer tape by the end walls or shoulders 29 of the channel 26 (see Fig. 8)

In order to accomplish simultaneous clinching of the jaws of both members 20 and 2I and severance of the gate or sprue 33 therefrom, I may, preferably, utilize a simple clinching and cutting press such as that illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10.

As shown therein, this press may comprise a stationary platen 40 provided with recesses 4I and 42 accommodating respectively, the members 20 and 2l with gate 33 attached, and a movable platen 43 supported by a reciprocating rod 44. The platen 43 is provided with a recess 45 complementary with the above described recess 4I and a recess 46 complementary with the above described recess 42 as well as a cutting blade or knife 41 (Fig. 10) extending completely across the platen 43, transversely, for engaging and cutting both branches of the gate 33, on a downward stroke of platen 43 simultaneously with clinching of the jaws of members 20 and 2I.

In the illustrated blanks 20, 2|, 33, the jaws of the members 20 and 2I extend oppositely and outwardly of each blank or assembly formed by a pin member 2l, retainer member 20 and integral gate or sprue 33. The jaws 23, 23 and 28, 28 of the members 20 and 2I, as cast, are spread equally and sufficiently only to permit the free threading of the prepared Stringer tape bottom end portions therein as stated above; thus bending, and damage incident to bending, during clinching, is maintained at a minimum.

Substantial time and labor is saved by the above described arrangement of the parts of the blank or assembly 20, 2l, 33 which facilitates threading of both tape end portions of a fastener simultaneously downwardly into nal position in the minimally spread jaws (23, 23 and 28, 28) which are thereafter simultaneously clinched to the tape portions aligned therewith concurrently with severance of the gate or sprue 33 from the pin and retainer member, as illustrated in Figs. 9 and l0.

Preferably, in assembling such a blank to a conventional slide fastener such as that illustrated in Fig. 1, the fastener is pulled up by coupling the rows of scoops I6 thereon by movement of the slider I'I at least partway upwardly from the lower ends of the rows of scoops I6. Thereafter prepared lower ends of the Stringer tapes I4 may be folded in alignment as shown in Fig. 3, and the lower ends of the tapes I4 separated sufficiently for alignment of the prepared lower edge portions with the channelsof the pin and retainer members (which are of equal length) into which channels they are threaded downwardly r.until such movement, downwardly of the respective pin and retainer members, is limited by the `shoulders or abutments 29 of the retainer 20 (Fig. 8) the upper end of the branch of the gate 33 coinciding with the channel 22 of the pin member 2I (Figs. 3 and4 4), or the shoulders or abutments 22a (Fig. 7) of the pin member 2 la.

Thereafter, by a single operation-(Figs. 9 and l0), the jaws 23, 23 and the jaws 23, 28 are clinched while both branches of the gate or sprue 33 are clipped or severed from the pin and retainer members. Thus, the attachment of both pin and retainer members to the prepared stringer tape end'portions is reduced to two 0D- erations-namely, a threading operation, and a clinching and gate severing operation.

Since the folded tape edge portions are aligned before the threading operation and since the relative positions of the pin and retainer members are fixed by their rigid attachment to the gate whereby the ends of the channels thereof are aligned, but little care need be exercised in threading in the tape portions to the predetermined positions defined by the stop means as described above, whereupon the clinching and gate severing operation may be performed.

Itis, of course, to be understood that the above description is merely illustrative and in nowise limiting and that I desire to comprehend Within my invention such modifications as are included within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by U. S. Letters Patent is:

l. In a method of applying to the edge reinforced lower stringer tape ends of a slide fastener the components of a separating end fitting comprising telescopically engageable complementary pin and retainer members, said slide fastener including complementary stringer tapes having thereon detachably engageable fastener members with a slider supported thereon for sliding movement to engage and disengage said fastener members progressively, pulling up the slider of said slide fastener at least partially for connecting said tapes and aligning them longitudinally, removing such lower end portions of the edge reinforcement from each of the fastener stringer tapes that the ends of the remaining edge reinforcements of both tapes are substantially longitudinally aligned, folding the end portions of both tapes over upon themselves substantially at the ends of the remaining edge reinforcements, compressing portions of the folds adjacent the lower ends of the remaining edge reinforcements to decrease the double thickness thereof, xedly supporting in laterally spaced relation a pin member and a retainer member each having an outwardly directed longitudinal spread-jawed tape edge receiving channel, pulling the connected Stringer tapes apart for a substantial distance above the folded portions to free the folded end portions for free manipulation, then simultaneously threading the folded end edge portions of each of said Stringer tapes an equal distance into one of said channels and simultaneously clinching said members to said Stringer tapes by clinching the jaws of said channels thereto.

2. In a method of providing a slide fastener with a separating end tting comprising complementary detachably engageable pin and retainer guapas 7 :membersv eachatntaclxed.` tonne of the edge renferced strngerrtapesof: said fastener, casting a-blank eomprslngzlaterally spaced pin and retainer members xjedly connected in the lenL gtudinally. aligned relation desired in the :elssem bled slide fastener by a severable gate 'andsaid pin v#und retainer members having outwardly direacted fspread-jawed tape l .end edge reaevng channels, threading the end edges. of both tapes each into one ofv said channels, andclinching said spread-jawed channels on the tape por tions therein while simultaneously-Severn@ the gate from said pin and retalner'nlmbers.

FREDERICK L; MORROW.

Number Name :Date

Reiter Deu 1&1, .198?,

Number 8 Name Date Marnsky Apr. 26, 193B McIntosh Nov.22, 1938 Kiessling Aug. 15, 1939 Ulrich Oct. 8, 1940 Marnsky Oct. 15, 1940 Kiessling Oct. 22, 1940 Nedal 04:12.22, 1940 Morn Nov. 17, 1942 Morin Feb. 23, 1943 Marnsky May 25, 1943 Carlile June l, 1943 Rabmowtz Jan. 2, 1945 Norkin Mar. 19, 194:6 Voty et al Oct. 22, 1948 Morin. July 5, 1949 

